Armour Thyroid during pregnancy

[SilverMoon010]

Does anyone have hypothyroidism and have taken the medication Armour Thyroid while pregnant? They say it is safe but I want to hear from others.

[Tumble Bumbles]

Yep, totally safe, it's a bioidentical hormone (something your body needs to produce anyway). Having a healthy thyroid in pregnancy is crucial -- I get my levels tested every 4-6 weeks in pregnancy, more often if I feel symptomatic, as high HCG levels, changing hormones, and the needs of a growing babe often means a temporary increase of dosage. My dosage has already been raised from 60 to 90 mg. My doc likes my tsh around 1, which rocks because many doctors still use the old guidelines of a TSH up to 6 as 'normal'. I feel like death at 6.

I was on synthroid during last pregnancy (babe was perfect, she's 5 now) and I needed an increase in pregnancy then too. However, my body responds much better to Armour and I like that it's natural (even if it is from an animal ).

Hope that helps! Feel free to pm me

[MaerynPearl]

its safer to take it than not to. unmedicated thyroid problems are very harmful to a fetus.

[sarahn4639]

Agreed, it's safe to replace the missing necessary hormone, it's dangerous to deprive the baby of it. Stay on top of your levels and take your meds, you and the baby will be better off for it. I know it can feel weird taking meds while pregnant, but this is definately one that is necessary.

[livinzoo]

I'm on Armour. Babe and me are doing great!

[L&K'smommie]

Subbing because I'm wondering the same thing. I just got the news that I'm going to need to take something for hypothyroidism as well...I meet with my ANP next week to talk about it.

[Stayseeliz]

I've taken armour during my last two pregnancies. It's totally safe! This time I'm on the compounded version of armour because I had a hard time finding it during the shortage last fall and I like the compounded version better so I'm sticking with that for now. Both totally safe!

[SilverMoon010]

Oh, that makes me feel so much better! Thanks guys! I thought I was the only one on this planet taking Armour. LOL! Some doctors don't even seem to know what Armour is. I know it's crucial to take thyroid replacement during pregnancy and I would never not take it. I was at the point that if there were known side effects during pregnancy, I think I unfortunately would decide not to get pregnant but everyone seems to have had great experiences so that's wonderful!! :-)

[SilverMoon010]

Oh, I forgot to ask.....How often did your doctor test your thyroid levels while pregnant? 

[Stayseeliz]

So far they tested at my 8 week appointment and my 16 weeks appointment. I think the nurse mentioned every other month or so for now.

[nadia105]

I"ve been tested every 4 weeks, but that is mostly due to the fact that my TSH jumped a lot in the beginning and we were trying to find the right level of meds.  It's been steadier now, so after one more test today, I think I'll be on every other month or so.

[jennifercp8]

My PCP did a baseline reading (as does my MW) of my TSH levels when first pregnant.  I was already on Amour when I got pregnant with DD back in 2008, so my PCP just continued to monitor it for me, with a blood draw every 6-8 weeks.  My dosage was continually upped during my pregnancy, until I was on almost 90mg.  Currently, I take 60mg of Armour, and I love it.  When I first started my thyroid meds, I was on Synthroid and Levothyroxine - I never felt as good on either of those as I do on the Armour.  My PCP takes another blood draw at 6 weeks post-partum to adjust medication as necessary.

[tinabrocc]

Did any of your doctors ever express a concern about remaining on Armour while pregnant as opposed to other thyroid meds? I've been on armour for about 7 months now and have never felt better. I've tried synthroid and levoxyl and I was always tired and felt like a shadow of myself. Sadly, the doctor I have come to know and love left and they gave me someone new. She STRONGLY recommended that I move to synthroid or levoxyl since they are T4 meds and almost made me feel like I was endangering my baby for refusing to come off armour. Since I don't know or trust her, I don't know what to make of this. Any thoughts would be appreciated!

[OrangeMoon]

Armour's the best, stick with whatever doc prescribed it, they're smart :-) Stay far away from any doc that doesn't know what it is, lol.

[OrangeMoon]

And it's super super safe and necessary to take if you need it. It's a really old medication, I think people have been using it for like at least 80 years.

[tinabrocc]

thanks for the words of encouragement. I really do love it and don't want to give it up, but now this doctor has me feeling that it's almost selfish of me. I know it's safe to take....really it would be UNSAFE of me NOT to take it, but I'm questioning whether the other T4 drugs are better suited for pregnancy. My old doctor left so I can't stay with her. Sadly at a time when I feel like I need her the most! I'm not really sure how to resolve this now since it's a difficult time to start shopping around for new doctors. 

[SoonToBe]

Armour is totally safe during pregnancy.  It has T4, T3, T2, and T1 in it just like humans make.  Since it's from pig thyroid, the ratio of T3 in it is higher than humans usually make, but that's okay.  T4 converts to T3 anyway since T3 is the active hormone.  It's important to have enough T4 in you during pregnancy since that crosses the placenta more readily.  However, Armour has T4 in it (about 38mcg T4 and 9 mcg T3).  As long as you feel good and you try to keep your FT4 (free T4) levels in the upper end of the normal range, you're good to go.  Make sure your doc looks at free thyroid levels and doesn't dose by TSH.  You need to look at the actual thyroid levels rather than pituitary hormones (TSH). 

Hope that helps.  I own/run a thyroid board and have researched all of this to death...oh, and I'm 18 wks pregnant and on Armour. :)

[tinabrocc]

Oh you have no idea how reassuring your words are!!!  It was so difficult for me to find a doctor that would even prescribe armour and now I can't imagine functioning without it. My quality of live has improved tremendously. I'm going to try another doctor and I'll keep an eye on my FT4 levels as well. I'm going to have blood work done every month. You said you did a lot of research....did you encounter any resistance from your doctor about this? Thank you again!!

[SoonToBe]

No my doc was great about it, but I have a very holistic doc.  I'm glad I was able to help.  I know how scary and overwhelming it can be. 

[jenni marie]

I'm so glad to find this thread.  I am 10.5 weeks pregnant and take Naturethroid, the generic of armour.  I had my thyroid checked as soon as I found out I was pregnant and TSH was 1.5, but free T4 was low-normal.  Of course, my doctor thought that was just peachy.  I had read somewhere else that the T4 needed to be upper-normal, and now I'm reading it again here... I just called my doctor's office again to ask for the NUMBERS from my last tests, but I'm wondering-- is there still time to correct this, or has my baby's brain been damaged already?

My new endo is not a proponent of armour/naturethroid.  He says taking ANY T3 makes your FT4 lower and causes blood levels to vacillate.  But if I don't take T3, I have mega symptoms.  Has anyone heard of adding some synthroid with armour to keep the T4 up?

It just makes me so unbelievably angry that these "doctors" are about to screw up my child because of their ignorance and lack of attention!  What should I do???  I have had it checked twice since that first test and again they said "normal" but I didn't find out what the levels actually were.  I have put in a call... let's see how long it takes them to get back to me...

Thanks everyone.  What would we do if we didn't have each other and only relied on doctors?  Scary.